Emperor Pilaf
is the first major antagonist during Dragon Ball. He is a small, impish monster who craves nothing more than power and dreams of ruling the world. He is an emperor in that he has a crown and a castle. He rules over an empire known as the Emperor Pilaf, however; only members of this evil empire are his two followers Shu and Mai. Pilaf acts much like a child would with a new toy, he acts as if he's king of the world all because of his "toys". Pilaf in fact has no special powers and usually keeps his henchmen in line through various torture devices he keeps in his castle home. If something bothers Pilaf, he will cry, whine, and complain like a baby until he gets his way. He collects all of the Dragon Balls once in order to take over the world, but his plan is foiled by Goku and friends. Pilaf captures Goku and the others and plans to kill them in the morning. But during their nightly stay in prison, Goku's friends are freed when Goku transforms into a huge ape monster by looking at the full moon. Pilaf's castle is completely destroyed by the monster ape but Pilaf, Mai, and Shu manage to escape. Pilaf returns second time in anime filler to gather the balls up once more, he is stopped by the Red Ribbon Army, next he fights Son Goku in a robot battle suit in a gamble, and a fourth time, he releases King Piccolo, who betrays him soon after. He also appears at the end of Dragon Ball trying to defeat Goku and Chi-Chi to the Bansho Fan. Pilaf is not seen nor heard of throughout Dragon Ball Z, minus a quick flashback by Bulma in a filler episode of the Namek Saga. At the beginning of Dragon Ball GT, Pilaf, Shu, and Mai arrive at Kami's Lookout in order to used the Black Star Dragon Balls to make a wish while Goku continues his training with Uub. The trio manages to summon the dragon but are caught by Goku, whom they try to stop with missile launching robot suits but fail. Pilaf complains how he wishes Goku was a kid again so he could beat him up, unaware the Eternal Dragon hears this wish, grants it, and turns Goku into a child and then scatters the balls across the galaxy, setting into motion the events of the entire series. Pilaf is not seen for the rest of the series except for being forcefully removed from Earth by Goku along with Shu and Mai before it explodes due to the wish being made on the black star dragon balls. Pilaf's design was partially based on Elton John's character from the film adaptation of Tommy. Pilaf wears a similar hat to John's and also has a gigantic pinball machine with piano keys. Pilaf appears almost twice as much in the anime as compared to the manga. At one point in Dragon Ball, he collects all of the Dragon Balls and is about to make his wish when Oolong jumps in the way and screams a different wish than anyone had planned on. Pilaf's first confrontation with Goku is in the Emperor Pilaf Saga over the Dragon Balls, which he seeks so that he can wish to rule the world. When he fails, he then releases King Piccolo from his confinement to achieve power. Pilaf has a short return in the Red Ribbon Army Saga, a shorter return in the Fortuneteller Baba Saga, and a final appearance in Dragon Ball, prior to Goku and Chi-Chi's wedding. Pilaf is never seen during Dragon Ball Z, other than a flashback stint, thanks to Bulma during the Namek Saga and an appearance in a picture stint on a card game in Bojack Unbound. In the first episode of Dragon Ball GT he makes a final major appearance as an old man. He finds Kami’s Lookout along with the now elderly Shu and Mai, and they manage to recover the seven Black Star Dragon Balls hidden in the Tower. Right as Pilaf is about to make his wish to rule the world, Goku appears in front of them. Pilaf screams in rage and exclaims that he wishes Goku were a little kid again so he could beat him up. Unfortunately, the Black Star Dragon overhears this and grants his wish. Later in the Baby Saga, when the Planet explodes, Pilaf and his gang are last seen briefly, when Goku saves them and takes them to the Tuffle Planet. Despite his seeming incompetence, Pilaf has an incredible amount of resources at his command, such as his own castle, airplane, laser weaponry, and high-tech floating base. Somehow he is able to improve on Bulma's Dragon Radar, develop a material that is capable of nullifying the electromagnetic pulses that a Dragon Radar picks up on, create an orbiting satellite detection system that can pick up images and sound from anywhere in the world, and find where the electric rice cooker King Piccolo was buried under the ocean floor hundreds of years ago even though he was believed to be only a legend by everyone save Master Roshi and Crane Hermit. Pilaf is one of the few characters to break the fourth wall, directly referring the Dragon Ball comic itself. It should also be noted that despite his incompetence, he is known to the citizens of Dragon World, as Bulma recognises him as Pilaf when they first meet. Note: In the "Kid Buu Saga" of Dragon Ball Z, Dende wished back everyone that was not evil, even though Pilaf was evil, he was brought back which is seen by fans as a plot hole that led to the beginning of Dragon Ball GT. However, this can be argued due to the fact Pilaf wasn't a pure evil being (as opposed to a comical bumbling imp with dreams of power), as King Piccolo was the first true enemy to pose that type of threat. Minions * Mai * Shu Video game appearances *Emperor Pilaf made a short appearance in Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury when Goten and Trunks try to take a Dragon Ball he found. *He appears in the beginning of Dragon Ball GT: Transformation, where he mirrors his anime appearance. *Pilaf is part of two bosses in Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure, both in his robotic suit. In the first battle he and Shu both fight Goku in their robots, and in the second they merge with Mai's robot. His and Shu's robots are also playable in Bonus Mode. *In his robot, he is also a playable fighter in the Japanese Wii Version of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 and Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3. Trivia *The Simplified Chinese charactes he wears on his chest are 炒饭 (chǎofàn), which means "fried rice". *DBZ anime movie/filler villain Garlic Jr., who shares the same voice and diminutive size as Pilaf, is similar to Emperor Pilaf except a much more serious villain. Category:Villains Category:Monsters